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Matchmaking Today, Tomorrow and Beyond

Learn more about matchmaking and the roadmap for change

Change is on the way! We know that it’s one of the top two concerns, just after fighting lag and we want you to know that we’re making it better. We’ve prioritized matchmaking over other projects in order to ensure fairness, enhance new users’ experiences and improve the gaming experience for everyone.

Today we’ll take a look at how matchmaking actually works, what changes we’re making and our roadmap to change.

How does matchmaking work?

Matchmaking is a complex system that takes several factors into consideration. The first of which is the physical distance between you and the nearest server. The second is the number of people in your fireteam, which is part of a weighted system that determines team balancing. The third and most important is your performance rating, which matches you against players of similar skill.

Your performance rating is determined by several factors and the largest of which is how well you play the game. Every match you play will cause your rating to rise and fall, sometimes significantly. The higher your score after one match, the higher your rating and therefore the higher the rating of your opponents you’re matched against.

If you were to purchase a new weapon and dominate several matches in a row, you will be continually pit against players with higher performance ratings. This is designed to equalize any equipment advantage you may have and balance the match.

How will matchmaking be different after 12.1?

In 12.1 the first change we’ve made is to reduce the weighted value of the fireteam. Previously the number of members in a fireteam significantly increased the group rating, which then caused the team to be matched against higher-rated players. Now the amount has been reduced to prevent potential imbalances.

The second change in 12.1 affects new players who have exited the Beginners Only Playlist. Previously if a player did very well in the Beginners Only Playlist they were automatically matched against players of similar performance rating, which made the learning curve pretty steep. Now players leaving the Beginners Only List will have their performance rating reset to help them to improve more gradually and significantly improve their first impressions and overall game experience. This is an important step for all of GRO, because it encourages players to stay in the game longer, to become members of the community and it expands the total player base for more even matchmaking.

What are the plans for the future?

In the future we plan to completely revamp the performance rating system with a new score. This score will be based on the tier of equipment available to you, the amount of time you invest in the game and your performance in matches.

The new equipment factor will increase your score based on the equipment unlocked in your inventory to ensure fair competition. In light of the recent economic changes, we want to assure you that the future of GRO is about facing even opponents. Here’s a simplified example of the new equipment score in action:

Little Jimmy buys a new gun for 200GC, which raises his equipment score from 500 to 800. This in turn increases his player score and makes him match up against higher-level players. Jimmy now has a more powerful weapon, which makes him more deadly, but now his enemies are more powerful too, which means that he will have to develop as a player just like everyone else to remain competitive.

Along with the equipment score, the amount of time invested in game, or seniority, will be factored in too. Seniority will ultimately replace the current level system and improve balancing significantly between players who have been able to quickly unlock weapons and long-time veterans.

These two new progressively increasing factors in addition to the more volatile performance factor will provide a stable assessment of your abilities and balance the matching system, while still allowing for fluctuation. This improved assessment will not only lead to more balanced matchmaking, but also a new leader board system.

The Match Lobby will get an overhaul as well. The new Match Lobby will show you the scores of other players and the relative balance between two teams. It will also allow you to swap teams to correct imbalances yourself. You will also be able to invite up to eight friends to join a squad instead of just four and change fireteams to subunits created within the Match lobby.

We have all of this and more in store for you in GRO’s bright future. Stay tuned for more info as we continue to rollout more changes.

Thank you for your support and for making the community what it is today,

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